Let Me Fly
by tatsuchan244
Summary: Mag thought that it was the best moment in her life when she received her new corneas and career. However, she did not realize that by signing her life away to GeneCo, she was also giving her life to Rotti Largo, to do whatever he wanted with her.
1. A New Beginning

_"It feels like...The world is moving without me..."_

Mag was lying on a purple velvet couch, inside a dingy old apartment that her best friend Marni owned. Whenever Marni was out, Mag usually just stayed inside by herself, and listened to operatic music loudly. Very loudly. A small stereo set on the rickety coffee table next to her was blaring classy Italian opera, and she sang along with it. The sensation of feeling the notes run past her lips...The refreshment with her mind when she pushed to get those high notes. The feeling of singing made her feel like she was actually _good_ at something. It was difficult for Mag to be like a normal everyday person with her disability, but the one thing she knew was that she exceeded at singing. When she heard other people speak, she felt proud to know that her voice was greater in comparison.

_"Bang, Bang, Bang," _a loud knocking was heard from the door.

_"Great, they're coming to complain again...I better go apologize,"_ Mag thought with annoyance. She reached over her shoulder for her long cane. When the cool metal cane touched her skin, she immediately grasped it, and stood up. Mag reached out her arms to keep her balance, and she walked towards the door, using her cane to help her avoid obstacles.

_"Bang, Bang, Bang...I don't have all day!"_

"I'm almost there," she replied softly. The floor squeaked with every step, and she could feel the puddle that Marni left after spilling some juice on the floor on her bare feet.

Mag reached out to unlock the chain, and the rusty dead bolt. It brought an unpleasant sound to her ear...The sound of rust clashing against rust. Mag's hearing was much more sensitive than the normal person, and it often caused unpleasantness. She opened the door, and suddenly the person from the otherside of the door entry gave a loud gasp.

She could hear this stranger stuttering for the right words, and could sense that she was feeling anxiety.

"Oh...Umm...I'm sorry. I'll just get going now," the person said. It sounded like a middle aged woman who had a deep voice.

"I'm sorry. Is my music too loud? I can turn it down," Mag said, acknowledging the fact that this woman was only being nice because she realized Mag had a disability.

"Not at all dear, not at all. Please, if you need help with anything let me know, I just live right across the hall," she said reaching out to pat Mag on the shoulder.

Mag instantly flinched backwards as soon as she felt the hand reaching towards her. The one thing that Mag didn't like was people touching her. She could tell when there was a table, tv, or even stove in her viscinity. People touching her however was erratic, and often sudden. It made her uncomfortable to be suddenly touched by someone, especially by someone she didn't know.

"I'm sorry. Yes, if I ever need anything I'll be sure to come visit you. Thank you for your assistance," Mag muttered quickly, and shut the door.

Mag heard the CD suddenly click, and the music ended. She slowly walked over to the stereo set, reaching her hand out to furniture to balance herself. As soon as she opened the stereo cover, and was about to place in a new CD, another knock was heard on the door, this time louder.

"Mag! Mag! Maggy, open the door!" a younger woman yelled. Mag instantly recognized the voice. It was her roomate and best friend, Marni. Her and Marni were inseperable. When there was no place that Mag could go, other than a center to help the disabled, Marni instantly took her best friend in. Mag went over to the door, and opened it. Suddenly she was embraced in a deep hug, and she dropped her long stick.

"Oh god Mag. You won't believe all that happened today!" Marni exclaimed happily. She noticed that Mag was surprised by her sudden hug, and she helped her regain her balance.

"Sorry, sorry. I forgot, you don't like people touching you. Here," she said, passing the long stick back to Mag. She grasped it, and straightened out.

"It's okay Marni. Here, let's go sit on the couch and you can tell me the good news," she said, making her way to the couch.

Mag sat down on the soft velvet couch, and heard Marni closely follow and sit next to her. Mag could hear Marni pouring something into a cup, and she reached out for Mag's hand and placed a cup of hot tea in it. Mag brought it up to her lips and took a sip. Perhaps one of the only positives of being blind was also heightened taste buds. The tang of the lemon simmered in her mouth while the herbs helped sooth her.

"So Maggy, you know how me and Rotti have been dating for a while?"

"Yes Marni," Mag replied, expecting this to be another rant on her great her rich and powerful boyfriend was.

"Well...You know he owns GeneCo?"

"Yes, Marni," she replied with slight irritation.

"His reasearchers came up with a new organ. Well I suppose not really organ, but body part. But anyways...Oh god...Oh Maggy you're going to be so happy!"

_"Oh no...I can sense it...Her voice is becoming more high pitched with excitement...I can feel the air around me take a sudden movement..."_

"SLAP!"

_"Ugh....She always slaps me when she gets extra excited. Who slaps a blind person anyways?"_

"I'm sorry Mag, but this is just too great! He can make you see Maggy! He can give you new corneas so you can see!"

"SLAP!"

This time it was Mag who had to do the slapping. She trembled as she lifted her hand off of her best friends cheek.

"You're serious? Oh Marni, this is the most wonderful news I've ever heard in my life!" Mag cried out, reaching out to hug her friend. She just grasped air however.

"M...Marni?" Mag asked in confusion.

She heard someone get up off the floor, and felt the couch seat next to her sink again.

"Wow Mag. That was a great slap, especially for someone who can't see," Marni chuckled, a large red hand print still staining her face.

"Yet," Mag corrected her.

"That's right. A great slap for someone who can't see...Yet," she laughed, and embraced her best friend in a great hug.


	2. The Contract

**Authors Note: Chapter two of Let Me Fly. Thank you for reading this, I absolutely love the character Blind Mag in Repo! The Genetic Opera, but I wanted to know more about what happened before the whole retirement occurrence, so I put my own take on Mag's past. Hope you enjoy, and please review. -Tatsu**

* * *

"Don't you want to look pretty for when you meet Rotti for the first time Mag?" Marni asked, brushing Mag's long brown hair.

"....Obviously I don't care what I look like Marni."

It had been a week since Mag had heard the news that she would be getting new corneas, and finally it was the morning of the procedure day. Marni was inside Mag's room, trying to make her look pretty for her special day. She decided that if Mag was going to be seeing herself for the first time, then well... Make it a good one.

"Hold still! You fidget so much Maggy, I haven't finished putting your lipstick on," she said, lifting Mag's chin up so she could get a better view of her face.

Mag felt the smooth cream of the lipstick smudge onto her lips, and she instantly flinched away.

"God Marni, what is that disgusting tasting stuff you're putting on my lips? I'm sure I look fine without it," she said trying to move her face away from Marni's hand of make-up doom.

"Well don't eat it Mag! Come on, you look silly with half of your lips red, let me just finish it," she said, trying to apply it to her lips. Mag however pushed her arm away, and shook her head.

"Ugh, you're so stubborn Maggy. Look if you don't stop fidgeting...I'll do _you-know-what_. And I know how much you _hate it_," she said teasingly.

Mag however did not give in to Marni's threats, and instantly regretted it.

It felt like a million spiders were crawling over her body, all the while a million little needles were prickling her skin and she couldn't find the source. The sensation of all of this on her nerves were causing her to concentrate on the horrible pain so she couldn't sense where Marni was, who was the one causing this endless torture.

"St..Stop...Stop, please! I....I'll do it...Just, quit it!" Mag begged, trying to cover her body with her arms, but the effort was futile.

"You promise?"

"Yes!"

And instantly it was like she was freed of an endless torture. Mag was breathing in deeply, trying to catch her breath.

"...I can't believe you. You know that I hate that more than anything else in the world," she gasped.

"That's why tickling you is so much fun!" Marni laughed, and smoothly applied the lipstick on Mag's lips.

The rest of the morning went smoothly, with Marni lovingly pampering her beloved friend. They chatted about the things that they would do now that Mag could see, and the places that they would go to.

Not only was it Mag who was excited to get her surgery, but it was also Marni was anticipating the results. She loved Mag dearly, she was her best friend after all and she had the most wonderful personality but sometimes it was difficult being best friends with someone who couldn't see. Their were many responsibilities that Marni had, and though Mag could take fine care of herself, there are many times when assistance is needed.

Marni pulled a hair accessory out of her own hair, and put it into Mag's. It shined brightly even in the dim lighted room, and she was happy with her make-over looked beautiful with her brown hair pulled back, and a dark chocolate brown dress on. Mag smiled, as she ran her hands over the rich fabric of the dress. She wasn't used to wearing exquisite clothing.

"You look divine. Are you ready to see for the first time?"

"I've been ready all my life."

Marni went over, and linked her arm with Mag's, and guided her out the door.

* * *

They were at the twelfth floor of the GeneCo building, and had to climb one flight of stairs, that the elevator didn't reach too. The putrid smell of cleaning products and medical liquids stung Mag's nostrils, and Marni guided her through the long white hallways. Even through the thick walls, Mag could hear the screams of medical patients inside their rooms with metal bolted doors. Or maybe they weren't even patients? Either way, Marni had promised her that she wouldn't wouldn't be getting her surgery done on this floor, and she was instantly relieved. She quickly led her up a flight of stairs, and they arrived on a completely contrary floor than the last.

Instead of a hard metal floor, Mag's shoes hit soft carpet. It was almost like they stepped into an entirely different building. Instead of screams she could hear distant elevator music through the speakers. They walked along the luscious hallway, and Marni knocked on a large pair of oak doors. Two women emerged through the door with heavy machinery cradled in their arms. Rotti Largo emerged after them, and greeted his two guests.

"Ah, Marni. How are you doing?" he asked, coming over to give her a small peck on the lips.

"I'm doing very well dear. I brought Mag with me, I'm so happy you two are finally meeting," Marni said, proudly presenting her best friend.

Rotti eyed Mag, and was immediately surprised by what he saw. Marni often told him of her best friend that lived at the apartment with her, but this...She was beautiful, much more beautiful than many of the GENterns that wander through these corridors. And even more appealing was the glazed light blue eyes that she had, though this alluring attribute was caused by her misfortune of being blind. He reached out for her hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Magdalene."

The instant she felt a foreign hand upon her's, Mag tensed up. It was calloused and dirty. Not at all like Marni's who's was soft and caring. She felt him, bring her hand up towards him, and the instant her hand reached his lips, she pulled it back and felt her face become red. It was a new feel that she was not used too. She had never felt lips upon her hand before, and she was sure that she didn't want to now.

"I'm sorry my dear if I made you feel uncomfortable. Marni, would you and your lovely friend care to come inside my office, so we may have a last discussion about the paperwork?" he asked, leading them to his magnificent work space.

The walls were adorned with ornamental tapestries, and candle-lit lamps. All around were portraits of his children, and they stared back at the three with uncaring eyes. Marni led Mag to a chair in front of Rotti's desk, and they sat down, awaiting the last few preparations before the surgery would begin.

"Would you ladies care for a drink?" he asked politely.

"No thank you Rotti. I think both me and Mag just want to get the procedure done and over with, so we can go and do so many fun things together," she said, looking at her friend with warmth.

"But of course you do. Before we get to signing the contract though-..."

The instant Marni heard the word contract, she tensed up and looked at Rotti with harsh eyes.

"Contract? You never told me anything about a contract before, when we talked about the cornea replacement," Marni said defensively. She knew the sort of horrible things that went on with GeneCo to people who didn't fulfill their contracts, and she didn't want Mag to become a part of it.

"My dear, it's nothing like organ reposession. Those people who get their organs reposessed often owe me money. Trust me, I don't want anything financially from Ms. Defoe. You're just worrying about childish things," he said casually.

Marni didn't reply to this, and instead, sat still like a statue and took careful precaution as she listened to what he had to say.

"Ahem, as I was saying. Before we get to signing the contract though, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about yourself Mag. Just so we can get to know each other a little bit more personally," he said, giving a small smile her way.

"What did you want to know about me, Mr. Largo?" Mag quickly answered.

"Oh, well...Hmm, do you have any...You know. Special talents?"

"It's difficult for me to be good at many things because of my blindness. Let me think... I don't want to sound haughty, but I'm rather intellectual. I suppose I've always been rather wise. I'm also good at cooking, my taste buds are better than the average person's so I'm good at adding and mixing ingredients. I suppose I can sing well-..."

At the instant Mag said the word sing, Rotti's eyes lit up. He gave her a sly smile, and put on a fake warm voice, "Why Ms. Defoe, that's wonderful! Absolutely wonderful...Could I hear a tune perhaps?"

Mag didn't see any harm, and answered his question by singing a simple and pure children's nursery rhyme. Her immaculate voice rang through the walls of his office, and both Marni and Rotti felt their hearts melt as the sweet sound of her voice surrounded them.

"Mag my dear, you have a gorgeous voice! I'm delighted to hear that you're a wonderful singer," he said happily. Marni eyed him suspiciously, but Mag was the one who raised the question.

"Why are you happy to know that I'm a good singer?"

"It will be a special surprise for you after you have recovered from your surgery. I'm sure that you will be extremely happy once you find out what GeneCo and I have in store for you," he said, and pushed a contract across the table.

Mag heard the rustle of paper, and tried to find it by reaching around. Instead however, she accidently slit her finger against the sharp edge of the contract. She winced in pain, and cursed under her breath.

"Here Mag, let me read it for you," Marni said, trying to help her friend out.

_"I, Magdalene Defoe, hereby declare myself as sole property of GeneCo, it's owner, and it's affiliations. My actions are reserved under GeneCo, and I shall in no way attempt to tarnish or cause harm to GeneCo and it's owner. I will always serve under -..."_

Rotti had grabbed the paper out of Marni's hand, and laughed at her.

"Please Marni. It's twelve pages long, let me simply summarize it up for you, Miss Defoe. Let's say I needed a favor. For example, I wanted to use your picture for maybe a few posters to promote Zydrate or even new corneas. You are obligated to fulfill those favors. Also, like many of our other customers, you're not allowed to try and tarnish our image to the general public. It's only really minor things like that, it's nothing big. It's just saying that you'll do favors for GeneCo every once in a while and after all; we are putting ourselves out of the way for your procedure which is for _free_. So, it shouldn't be a problem to just help us out a little bit," Rotti declared in a now serious voice. His face was hardened and he stared down Mag even though she couldn't look back at him.

Mag had a constant nagging in her mind the entire time that Rotti had been explaining the contract to her. She asked the question and was quickly afraid of the answer.

"And if I don't follow the contract?"

"Then we claim full rights to repossess your eyes. It hardly ever happens though, repossession is a very rare occurrence."

_"Care to explain to me the people who have been missing then? All of the evidence and suspicions are led back to GeneCo."_

Mag felt uncomfortable with all of these obligations that she had, and didn't know what to do. She sensed that something ambiguous was going on here, but she shrugged it off. Though her senses have always helped guide her through the dark, she now had a choice. Trust her senses, or take the chance so she could see the world for the first time.

"Alright. I'll sign," Mag said with finality. She heard Marni take a deep breath.

"Are you sure Maggy? I mean, if you don't want to sign it, I promise I'll still take care of you," Marni said, her voice shaking with worry.

"I'm positive. Could you pass me a pen please?"

"Of...Of course," she said, reaching out to the table and grasped a black ball point pen. She reached out for Mag's hand, and gave it a small squeeze of affection. Then she put the pen in her hand, and guided it to the line on the paper.

Mag could hear the clear scratching noise of the pen running itself along the surface of the paper, as she signed her name away. Marni watched in anticipation, and hoped that it was a good idea that she had brought this whole thing upon Mag in the first place. After Mag lifted the tip off of the paper, one of Rotti's assistants instantly appeared, stamped the contract with a seal, and took it away from the table. Both Mag's and Marni's hearts were beating furiously as they awaited the next step.

"Well, now that the whole fiasco is over...Would you like to see the eyes that we have prepared for you?" Rotti asked, suddenly losing the whole business man appearance.

Mag nodded her head, and heard him rustling through drawers of his desk. Finally she heard him give a small, "aha", and something small made a thump on the table.

It was a small leather box that he had placed on top of his desk. He quickly clicked it open, and inside laid two glass eyes staring back at him. They were the same shade of light blue as her's, with mechanical wires hanging out of the back of them. He told Mag to reach out his hands, and the instant she felt the glass, she almost dropped the eyes out of shock.

_"This is what they are? I imagined that they would be soft...Perhaps a little moist as are...Artificial."_

Rotti took them back, and quickly locked it up once more in the back of his desk.

"Aren't they wonderful? Brand new invention, much better than normal eyes. They can do so many things like record what you see, project holographics, allow you to go on the world wide web, show you what the weather in Bangkok-..."

Mag however wasn't listening. She was happy that she was going to be getting eyes, but that's what she really wanted. _Eyes_. She wanted to be like Marni, and have normal eyes and be able to see the world like her best friend. Not some electronic GeneCo manufactured body part.

"Hey...Are you okay Maggy?" she heard Marni whisper to her.

"Y..Yes. I'm perfectly happy," she said, lying through her teeth.

"You promise?"

"...I promise."


	3. The Operation

"I also got you this wonderful movie Mag… Well, wonderful may be an overstatement. Actually, when I think about it, it's a god awful film but the lead actor is gorgeous and you deserve some eye candy for the first film you watch," Marni said, placing a disk on Mag's bedside.

They were in a stark hospital room, complete with dirty bed sheets and sickening white walls. Or at least it was like that until Marni showered Mag with colorful gifts; assortments ranging from aluminum balloons with a smiley face on them, to delicate flowers adorning every table in the room. The thing most important of all however, was a dull, mahogany picture frame that Mag held in her hands. Dust and dirt lingered on the protective glass preserving the precious picture inside. And though she couldn't see the picture, Marni used to describe ever little inch of what was in it. Mag merely had to listen to be able to put herself back into that very same spot.

She took a deep breath, and envisioned that moment in time. It helped her to soothe her nerves about the day to come. It was finally the date she had been waiting for all her life, the thing that would finally make her whole. Familiar fingertips brushed the back of her hand, and she brought her palm up to Marni's face like she always did to know how she was feeling. She felt Marni's smooth appearance etched with anxiety and distress, but a fake grin was spread across her face as she tried to assuage her dear friend. Mag traced the outline of the forced smile with the tips of her finger, and flashed back an equally fabricated expression.

"So, I'm pretty much sure this is exactly what you look like right about now," Mag said, beaming an over-exaggerated grin over her own anxious face. Marni laughed, and playfully slapped her on the wrist. She lightly winced at the pain, but enjoyed that Marni didn't treat her like a fragile piece of china like the rest of the world did.

Marni patted Mag on the back of her hand, and gave an affectionate smile. It was strange really, to think about how their friendship would be after this. She hoped it would become stronger now that Mag could go out and do more things, but the consequence of that would be she wouldn't need Marni anymore. She'd be able to care for her own apartment, drive herself to the local GeneCo Supermarket, and meet a lot more friends who would be much more interesting than her.

She just had to know.

"H…Hey Mag?"

"Yes Marni?"

"What are you going to do after the operation?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

A second of silence passed between them, but it felt like an eternity to Marni, as Mag pondered her question.

"Well, I suppose we could-…"

She suddenly got interrupted by a finger placed delicately on her lip to signal silence. Though Mag couldn't see, Marni had a relieved face and a grateful smile.

"_All I needed to hear was 'we'."_

Moments of silence passed between them as the operation time drew near. And though neither of them expressed words of comfort to the other; as one lay in a cold hospital bed and the other in a chair close by, they didn't need to. It was merely the fact that they were both there, that they existed for each other at this time expressed what words couldn't.

And so when the doctors came in to perform the operation, Mag was still scared but knew that it would be worth it when would see Marni's face for the first time. As well as for Marni herself, who was afraid of what Mag would do once she was granted with vision, was sure of the fact that their relationship would still last even if Mag wouldn't need her assistance anymore.

Although Marni was asked to leave the room and Mag a shot of Zydrate, they both refused.

"_I've lived with the pain of being blind all my life, so it's only right that I suffer the pain of escaping it."_

The surgery was perhaps one of the worst experience's Mag had ever been through. It was like a thousand foreign hands swarming her body and she couldn't push them away. Pins and needles pierced the sensitive area around her eyes and the pain was agonizing. She clenched her fists on the sheets and cried out as a metal instrument (was it a knife? She couldn't tell.) formed incisions on her eyelid. Her mind was numbing from agony and the last thing she could remember was the pain and almost sadness as they ripped out her defected eyes, separating them from the tender tissues that were trying their hardest to keep them in.

* * *

Sticky bandages had covered Mag's eyes for a few days, her body recovering from the operation. She lay in her musty sheets, and had bright purple headphones on, blaring loud opera music once more. Her fingers flipped through a trendy magazine, imagining what she would see in it, once Marni was allowed to peel away her bandages.

The stay in the hospital had been rather dreadful, one of a lot of pain from recovery, and of course much boredom. There really wasn't much to do… Sure they had a lot of things to entertain patients such as movies, video games, and books but this surely wouldn't help a blind person. Mag learned patience throughout her life though. Being blind required a lot of it, and so finally when it was the day she would be able to see, Mag was ready for it.

In through the room burst an energetic Marni, her hair and make up all done to the highest quality so Mag would have a good first impression when she laid her new eyes upon her. She came over and sat by her bedside, practically jumping up and down the seat cushion.

"Can you believe it Mag? Today is _finally_ the day! I have the whole day planned out: first we'll go to the cinema and watch a movie. Then we'll go out and have some coffee at this new hip café downtown. After all of that is finished, I smuggled in some fireworks so we can set them off tonight. It's the most wonderful thing to watch Mag, I know you'll be amazed," she exclaimed, and continued to ramble on about all of the fun things they would do.

"Marni? The doctor said that even though I can take my bandages off, I still have to spend a few days of bed rest at home," she said, feeling guilty about ruining her plans. Marni however did not waver.

"That's fine, that's completely fine. A few more days of waiting is okay with me!" she said, the bright smile still shining on her face.

Mag giggled, and realized that she wasn't the only one that learned patience through her disability. Marni did as well from being her friend and caring for her.

They laughed and chatted about all of the new experiences Mag had to try, and quickly lost track of time. Before they knew it, the doors burst open once more, this time a doctor and Rotti Largo emerging from them.

Rotti came over and greeted his girlfriend, kissing her on the cheek. Mag lay quietly, as she heard the doctor examining her. She heard him softly whisper the word 'good', and her heart pounded as she awaited Marni's familiar soft hands to peel away her bandages.

It was finally the moment of truth. After this she'd be able to go out and be a normal person, and leave her walking stick behind. She no longer had to fear being judged by people just because she had a disability, and so she held her breath and waited

A moment passed. Then another. What was wrong? Why was it taking so long for them to remove the bandages? She could almost swear she heard Marni and Rotti arguing, but shook the feeling off.

She had started to get worried, until she sensed a pair of hands reaching down towards her. It was finally time, and Mag couldn't help but grin. Instead of slow peeling however, they reached down and mercilessly ripped the bandages off her face. Mag cried out in pain, and opened her eyes to see for the very first time.

Rotti Largo towered over her, bandages still in his hands. The smile on his face was one of a child opening a present on Christmas, and getting exactly what they wanted. It was almost a shock for Mag, seeing the world for the first time. It wasn't anything like she had imagined. The grime on her bed sheets, the flickering light over head, and the frightening expression on this person's face. Where was her best friend? She knew that this _thing_ laying their eyes on her couldn't possibly be her best friend. She just knew it. She needed to see Marni; this was getting to be too overwhelming. Mag called out for her, turning her head everywhere, trying to hear her friend's familiar voice.

Nothing.

Had she abandoned her?

Maybe Mag had gotten to be too much in the end? Maybe taking care of her had been too much of a hassle, and the surgery was the last straw? She felt her breathing become shallow, and she put her hand on her chest. Mag looked down, and saw her own hand for the first time. It was milky white, with pink fingernail polish that Marni had put on the other day. Another person suddenly emerged, watching Mag's panic attack. As soon as she saw this person, fear filled her entire body. They almost looked like a monster: a long white cloak draped their entire body, latex gloves stretched over their hands, and a surgical mask lay over their mouth. What was this monster?

"It's alright Ms. Defoe, please calm down. It's alarming to see for the first time, I know. Marni is outside in the hallway, Mr. Largo had her wait out there," the doctor said, trying to make her anxiety go away.

Mag shifted her eyes back to the other person, and looked at them closely for the first time. Harsh lines were engraved in his face, and he had an expression that looked deceitful. This man gave a sly smile to Mag and said, "My dear, there is nothing to worry about! My GeneCo doctors have taken good care of you, and now you can see! I am Rotti Largo by the way, I hope you are satisfied with your new eyes?"

Mag instantly calmed down and knew that it would be alright. It was Marni's boyfriend afterall, and the kind man who gave her the opportunity to see.

"They're…Amazing. Thank you for this chance Mr. Largo. I was just wondering where your girlfriend is though? Why isn't she here in the room?"

"Marni is just outside my dear. Remember when I told you before that I had a surprise for you? I just wanted to discuss that in private with you."

"…Alright," Mag said hesitantly. She thought it was strange that he didn't want his own lover to hear.

Rotti had another pleased smile, his face looking like it would almost burst from the anticipation of telling her the news.

"Ms. Defoe, you shall be GeneCo's worker, but not just any work, oh no. You will have a career as a singer in our Genetic Opera! The face of GeneCo. You will have fame, and no longer will you have to hide that gorgeous voice of yours. Everyone in the world will know who you are, and your stage name shall be… Blind Mag. Rather catchy, don't you think?" he asked, sounding pleased with his creativity.

"_I can finally see, but I'm still attached with the word…Blind."_

"Of course Mr. Largo. Thank you for this opportunity. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a movie to watch with a friend," she said, and left the room to be greeted by a big hug by a woman she instantly knew was her dearest friend, Marni.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, chapter three. After reading it over again I noticed I put a lot of special moments with Mag and Marni in this one. They have a lovely friendship though, so it's fun to write it. Thanks for reading and please review. -Tatsu**


	4. Marni's Secret

_**A/N- Ah, it's been a long time since I've updated, I keep getting darn writers block even though I have an outline. Though at the very end of this chapter, I realized that I wrote about 3,000 words more than I usually would. Maybe I didn't have writers block after all? Who knows. Thanks for reading.**_

* * *

"Oh man, I can't find it Mag, and the deadline for that paper was two days ago. The people at work are going to kill me, " Marni said, extremely flustered.

She was searching through the apartment top to bottom with Mag. Marni had once again lost an important paper that she had to turn into her boss, and now they had the joy of looking for it instead of eating a delicious dessert breakfast that Mag had planned. Suddenly Marni made a noise of joy and sprinted towards the door.

"Found it! I've gotta go drop it off at work, and when I come back I promise we'll see that matinee performance of the play you've been wanting to see!" she yelled out, and was quickly out the door.

"...Bye Marni," Mag said, feebly at the closed door.

She got up and sat at the kitchen table, two plates, one for Mag and one for Marni, of delicious chocolate chip cookies with whip cream were on the table. Mag sat down and dunked them in soy milk, reminiscing on the amazing two weeks she's had so far.

So many things have happened in the few weeks since her surgery. She had to admit, it's been the best time of her life. She never realized how wonderful it was to have sight. Every night her and Marni would watch movies until three in the morning, Rotti had told her she would have her own opera filled with her favorite songs, and now whenever she left the house; she was no longer treated any differently than the next person. She's even noticed that her best friend has been happier, though she couldn't say that it was for the same reasons. Rotti had recently proposed to Marni, and soon she would be the lovely Marni Largo. Mag was happy for her, after all, Rotti was one of the most wonderful men in the world. He saved the world from a pandemic, raised three lovely children, and treated both her and Marni with the upmost respect. The only fear she had about him, was the time when she was blind, she could sense that there was something off about him; something almost dark. Mag threw those feelings off as just nerves though, at that time she had been going through a lot of emotions anyways.

As she finished up her plate of cookies and brought it over to the sink to wash, she suddenly heard a loud beeping noise coming from Marni's room.

_"Of course that girl would have her alarm clock set to...Oh let's see, eleven-thirty in the morning?"_

She went into Marni's room, to turn off the forgotten alarm setting. After the annoying beeping was muted, Mag jumped onto Marni's bed, and looked around the room. The one thing they respected in each other's relationship was privacy, but Mag couldn't help but sneak a peak around now that she was here. The walls were adorned with dozens of posters of Marni's favorite singers, and the floor was a complete mess. She had a picture frame of the two of them by her bedside, but next to that was a small envelope with nothing written on the front. Mag instantly became curious, and opened the envelope up, immediately shocked by it's contents.

She pulled out a glossy picture from the protective envelope. On the back it was dated only a month ago, and on the front was a still of Marni sharing an intimate kiss with a man. The problem was, this man wasn't Rotti Largo. She examined it closer, trying to come up with some sort of excuse for her friends behavior, but the evidence was too strong. This was a picture of Marni clearly cheating on her boyfriend with Nathan Wallace. Mag had always like Nate, sure he was a shy man, but he was one of Marni's good friends as well. When Mag had questioned her once if she would ever get into a more personal relationship with him, Marni had merely laughed and promised her that would never happen.

That was clearly a lie. She felt angry, and most certainly betrayed. Mag told Marni _everything_, even if it was something she wasn't proud of. Obviously, Marni didn't feel the same way, and thought that it would be better to hide her relationship with Nathan Wallace from her. And why would she even consider cheating on Rotti Largo? He gave her everything she ever wanted, bought her nice things, always brought her to the nicest restaurants for their dates. Now they were even getting married. Mag hoped that this picture was a one time deal, and that she still wasn't seeing Nate.

A happy yell from the door made Mag realize that Marni was home. She quickly tucked the picture into her pocket, and left her room to confront Marni about this situation. When Marni saw Mag, she had a bright smile on her face, and gave her a handful of wrapped sugar candies.

"I felt really bad about ditching you and your delicious breakfast cookies, and I remember how much you liked the candies on the receptionists desk, so when she wasn't looking I stole some," she said, looking pleased with herself. Mag didn't reply, she set them down on the table next to her, and tried to control her feelings.

"What's wrong Maggy? Has something upset you?" Marni said, instantly worried. She reached out to stroke Mag's arm, but Mag pulled back.

"So. How has Nate been doing these days?" she asked, the question surprising Marni. She merely tilted her head and chuckled.

"Oh that man is always getting himself into trouble. He's so sweet, but unfortunately has the worst luck. During one of his surgery's his watch happened to become loose off his wrist, and fall into the patients abdomen! I told him that it was silly to wear accessories during procedure's, but he doesn't listen," she said, her face happy from this funny memory. When Mag saw the grin on her face though, it only made her more upset.

"Are you happy with Rotti? I mean, if you weren't you know I would support you with anything you chose."

Marni shook her head, telling Mag that she was silly for thinking that she wasn't happy when she was around her fiance. Mag felt the rage building up, having to hear these endless lies from her was unbearable.

"Marni, you trust me, don't you? You know that you can tell me anything, right?" she finally said. Marni gave her a curious look and replied,

"Of course Maggy. I tell you everything. Do you not believe me?"

This made Mag only angrier, she had never been this mad at Marni in her life. If she thought about it, she's never really even been mad at Marni, only irritated at times. She pulled out the picture from her pocket and put it in Marni's hand.

"Explain that to me then."

Marni took a look at it, and her face instantly became a ghostly white. Mag was expecting an apology, but received the exact opposite.

"What were you doing, going through my things? I never do that with you, and here you are sneaking through my belongings!" she said, glaring at Mag.

"Ha, are you kidding me? I'm the one who should be mad. You told me that you were happy with Rotti, and here you are having an affair with one of his surgeons! I can't understand why you would do such a thing if you were happy with your fiance Marni!" she said, her face becoming red from anger. Marni stood her ground through, not losing eye contact with Mag.

"You don't understand Mag, you wouldn't understand something like this. The relationship Rotti and I have is different than what I have with Nathan. Though, the woman that has never been in a relationship would totally understand, wouldn't she?" Marni retorted. Marni was becoming equally as mad as Mag, not caring about what she had to say right now. Mag let that argument going, feeling a little pain with Marni's mention of her never having a love life.

" Didn't you just say that you trusted me with everything? You certainly didn't trust me with this..."

"I have a choice on whether I want to confide in you or not, and this is one of those things I'd prefer that nobody but me and Nathan know about. I don't know what's so wrong about that Mag-..."

"No, there is something wrong with that Marni! You have a fiance now, and you've obviously cheated on him! I certainly hope that this little impulsive relationship you got yourself into isn't going to interfere with your engagement!"

She wanted to voice some reason into her, let her see the error in her ways. There faces were close now, both of them full of anger. They had never been this upset with each other before, never fought like this before. They couldn't stop though, both were so passionate and both so very stubborn.

"I love Rotti. I would never let anything hurt him, which is why I chose to keep this a secret. You've obviously found out the one thing I wanted to keep hidden though, good job Mag. I'm so delighted that every single thing in our lives has to be shared with each other," she said sarcastically.

Mag felt extremely hurt by the last comment, because she knew it was true. They did share everything in their lives, right down to the clothes on their back. She wanted to be a part of everything in Marni's life though, why couldn't she understand that? Why couldn't she understand that she wanted to look out for her friend, even if she was making a bad decision.

"I can't blame you for wanting to keep this a secret Marni. I would want to keep it a secret if had such a low self-respect for myself, that I need dozens of men wanting me," she insulted.

Mag knew instantly that she hit a nerve. Marni's face that was once masked with anger, was now full of sadness and self-hatred. She never thought of it that way, she never saw herself as a..._whore._ She looked up at Mag, who looked stunned. She was looking at Marni with sudden remorse in her eyes, but Marni turned her back to her, not wanting her to see her in this fragile state.

Mag meanwhile didn't know what to do. She would never imagine that such a thing would come out of her mouth, that an insult like that would ever be directed to Marni. She was still angry though, jealous that there was a part of Marni's life that she wasn't a part of. The jealousy overthrew her feelings of sorrow, making her believe that Marni just wanted to put all the blame on her.

_"She thinks that just because she's a little sad now, means that everything is my fault. It's not my fault, I won't take the fall for this."_

"I...I'm leaving! The rest of the world might be obsessed with you, but I'm not!" she said, grabbed her coat, and was out the door.

She felt like a child, denying that they stole an extra dessert from the dinner table. The instant she left the apartment, she wanted to turn around, and cry in Marni's arms; apologize over and over again for letting all of that happen. She couldn't though, the shame was too much. If she went in their now, she would spill her heart and cry her eyes out. She wouldn't let Marni have that, she still had a bit of pride left in her. She decided to leave the apartment complex to clear out her mind, and give the two of them some space to think about what just happened.

Mag still wasn't completely used to all of the images that her eyes let her see. Sometimes, she felt like there was imagery overload, and she would get severe headaches. When she was alone outside now, her mind was already filled with emotions about what just happened. But of course, people had to wear bright colored shirts while they were walking, and cars had to zoom by. Her brain had to process all of these things, which caused her to become dizzy. She started to walk, trying to empty out her mind and let everything slow down. Mag closed her eyes numerous times, but it didn't help her. She was ready to start walking around with her eyes completely shut, but an idea suddenly struck her mind. (Causing an even more severe headache of course.)

What was the one place that was dull, boring, and had nothing bright or interesting to look at? GeneCo of course. The large GeneCo Tower may look massive and colossal on the outside, but the inside was the most bland place in the world. She turned on her wristwatch that Rotti had given her, and called up a limo to pick her up. After she got off the phone with the driver, she immediately started to wonder whether it was a good idea that she chose GeneCo to be her, "calming down" setting. It was perhaps an odd choice, but she did feel safe though because Rotti had always made her feel secure. In the middle of her thoughts, the limo pulled up to her. She muttered something about that being quick, and hesitantly got into the back seat.

When she entered, she didn't say a single thing to the driver. She leaned her head against the cool glass window, and finally let the hot tears trickle down her face. She cried only harder, knowing that it would be Marni who was always the one to try and make her feel better, to make the pain go away. She didn't even notice when the car stopped, and the driver opened her the door. He asked Mag if she wanted him to inform Mr. Largo that she was at GeneCo, but she denied the offer. She didn't want to see him right now, only needed a place to walk around and clear her thoughts.

When she entered the tower, it amazed her how big and confusing it really was. Many corridors led to even more rooms, which led to even more confusing human beings. She had only been here a few times, always to discuss her operation with Rotti. She found the staircase, ignoring the elevators that were right next to her. Mag couldn't explain why she had decided to put herself through the physical work out. There were many stair steps in GeneCo, and she estimated that it would take her at least thirty minutes to reach the top. Somehow though, Mag felt like her answers were at the top, that everything would be better if she only worked hard to reach their. After time, she couldn't remember how many floors she had already passed, couldn't remember the faces of the people that had walked by. She trudged on though, feeling that it was an obsession, almost a life death situation for some odd reason she couldn't explain.

When her feet reached the top floor, a familiar, putrid smell filled her senses. She saw the aluminum floors showing her a distorted reflection. Above her head, fluorescent lights shined down, causing her pale white skin to look sickly. It was a long corridor, the end leading to an elevator that could reach Rotti Largo's office. She was ready to turn around, upset that she didn't feel any different than she did on the first floor. When she was already leaving, a loud scream was heard in the corridor. Mag ran back, only to find the same old rooms in the hallway with the metal dead bolt lock. She couldn't ignore that cry of humiliation and vulnerability projecting even if she couldn't see them through their heavily locked doors.. She pressed her ear up against every doorway, desperate to find where the horrific cry came from. After listening to the inhabitants of each room, she felt sick and not because of her headache. She wanted to know what was going on in these rooms, and she was determined to find out. When she put her ear against one of the door another time, a hand came out from behind her and touched her lightly on the shoulder. Mag took a gasp of shock, quickly turning around to meet Nathan Wallace. His eyes were full of worry, but she was horribly angry at him. He had ruined everything that Marni had with Rotti. It was his fault that she had left Marni, probably crying back at the apartment.

"Mag? What are you doing on this floor? You shouldn't be here... You definitely shouldn't be here," he said, guiding her back towards the stairwell. She stopped though and stood her ground.

"Then why are you here Nathan? I thought you said that you worked on the sixth floor," her voice underlying hateful feelings.

"What's up with you Mag? Being rude certainly doesn't suit you, obviously something is wrong."

She immediately felt guilty once again. She took a deep breath, and leaned her back against the cold wall.

"I apologize . It's been a horrible day Nate, and I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

"That's fine, don't worry about. What's been on your mind?"

She didn't know where to begin. Especially since she was talking to the main that was the source of the problem. She decided to get straight to the point.

"Well. I know what Marni's secret is Nate, and I've gotta tell you, I'm completely fine with it now-..."

"Oh? What is this secret Blind Mag?" she heard, a familiar deep voice echo from the end of the corridor She turned around, her face flushed with nervousness.

"It's...It's nothing Mr. Largo. I was just talking to Nathan Wallace about Marni. He's friends with her as well you see," she said, lying through her teeth. Rotti could sense that something was misfit and flashed her a dangerous smile.

"Hm. She's never told me anything about being friends with one of my surgeons. You don't work on this level Nathan Wallace. I suggest you get back to work. As for you Mag, I think it's best that you come to my office so we can have a little chat."

Nathan gave Mag an apologetic smile and a thumbs up, as he went to the elevator. Mag took a deep breath, and followed Rotti to his office.

Inside she took a seat across from his desk, and felt her hands shaking. The last time she was here, it had been to talk about receiving her eyes. Now, it was a matter of Marni's relationship. She knew that Rotti wouldn't hurt anyone if he found out that his fiance was cheating on him, but he would be enormously heart broken. It was an awkward silence, as he studied her face, finally pouring a glass of crimson wine for the two of them. He slowly took a sip, then gave Mag a fake warm welcoming smile.

"It's a pleasant surprise to see you at GeneCo today Blind Mag. I didn't call you in today, is there a reason for this unexpected visit?"

First question and she was already cornered.

"I just wanted to come and visit, I have an appreciation for getting out and seeing the city however."

Of course. She had to make a mistake already.

"It's a rather odd place to come visit. Most woman would rather take a walk in the park, go to the GenCo Mall, or even just visit around the neighborhood. But you'd rather come here?"

She made no reply to this, and simply took a drink of wine. She gave him a shrug and muttered something about the beautiful artwork in the lobby. (Though there was none.) Rotti decided not to ponder on this anymore, and asked her the next question.

"I couldn't help but hear you talking to Nathan about Marni. Tell me, how is my beautiful fiance doing?"

Mag's hand started to shake even more. Finally, he got to the point. She had been begging on the inside that he wouldn't ask, but alas, she knew it would have to happen.

"We were just discussing her really. Nothing bad about her of course, nothing of importance."

"Oh but Blind Mag. Everything regarding my future wife is important to me. After all, she is the most important thing in my life."

"We were just talking about meeting up together for dinner sometime, you know. The three of us are friends, and we just thought it would be fun to spend time with each other," she lied, trying to get through this as quickly as possible and leave the office. However, this comment made Rotti even more furious.

Her stomach twisted, the expression on his face was of extreme hatred. What had she said? She hadn't insulted him, why was he getting so upset?

"So, of course her fiance isn't invited. I'm just wondering why you wouldn't care to invite me to your gatherings. Does Marni not like me enough to not involve me in her personal life?" he said, his voice drenched in jealousy. Mag regretted what she said, now seeing how quickly Rotti could become jealous and angry about such a trivial thing. Though if she gave it more thought, he was upset for the exact same reason she was. Because Marni didn't share every little thing of her life.

"We just thought that you would be busy-...."

"You could have asked, Marni could have asked. And I don't like other men spending time with her, especially when I'm not there. She's vulnerable, she could be easily manipulated or tricked. You know how impulsive she is Blind Mag," he said, his face etched in hate. Mag was now also upset, how dare he say such things about Marni?

"No she is not! She is the strongest person I've ever met, and would never do a thing to hurt you!"

"So that's why you're still lying to me about this secret of her's? If it won't hurt me, why won't you tell me?" he said, his voice booming in rage. He knew that she was lying all along.

"Because! It's a thing between Marni and I, and if she hasn't told you yet, then I don't have the right to do it myself!"

"Oh but you do....It's all in the contract my dear....You have to do whatever I request, I thought you remembered?" he asked, his voice becoming soft and cool once more.

Her face was shocked and disgusted. Rotti was actually pulling this trick on her, Marni had promised her that he wouldn't.

"Yes, but with publicity, entertainment, and advertisements with GeneCo. Nothing of a trivial matter like this."

"You should pay attention to your contracts more carefully Blind Mag. I'm afraid you're mistaken." He mimed out the removal of her eyes and she shuddered.

Mag felt betrayed and disturbed. Rotti, the man that she thought was wonderful and kind was now blackmailing her for her new eyes. She thought that they were a favor, but now realized that they were mere loans, an item exchange for her complete devotion and her voice. She was about to stand up and give him a piece of her mind, but the door suddenly slammed open.

A girl, not very old but not young either, with high cheek bones and a perfectly aligned face came in. Golden hair spilled over her shoulder, and her body was slender and smooth. Mag immediately recognized her as Amber Sweet, the girl on all of those billboard advertisements. Her face looked nice on all of the publicity photos, but here in person, it looked dark and cold like her father's.

"Daddy! They told me that you're not going to let me get a hair transplant! I need it if I want to become a famous singer, my hair is hideous!" she cried out, and threw all of the things off of his desk. Shattered decorations and papers now cluttered the floor, but Rotti didn't move a finger, his vengeful eyes suddenly full of affection for his daughter.

"But my dear Amber, your hair is so beautiful. I don't know why you need to change it-..."

"I want it done now!" she said, and fake tears started rolling down her face, leaving a trail of smudged make-up. It was too much for Rotti to see his little girl cry, so he quickly agreed, but the smile still wasn't on the girl's face.

"I want it short and dark daddy. I'm sick of you and everyone else in those magazines saying that I look so, "angelic". Singers aren't like that daddy, they're dramatic and sexy! All I am is just a a little girl with golden hair!" she yelled, pulling strands of it out. This didn't seem to bother Rotti however.

"Absolutely not. And you must leave now, I'm having an important conversation with Blind Mag-..."

It seemed like Amber had not noticed Mag in the room until now. She looked over at the chair, and frowned.

"This is her? She's effin' ugly daddy, I don't know why I can't be the one singing at the Genetic Opera."

"You're too young Amber, and you haven't been practicing your scales. I know, your voice teacher told me."

"That bitch is a liar! I've been practicing really hard! Make this Blind Mag go away daddy, I don't want her in the same room as me. She's atrocious and hideous."

Mag thought that she should be offended, but instead she was relieved and took this as a chance to dash out of the room. As the door closed behind her, she could hear Rotti become angry with his daughter for making him lose his chance to hear Marni's secret. She didn't stop though, and continued to hurry off until she in an elevator, choosing her floor. But before she left the GeneCo Tower, she thought that it would be best to visit a little friend before hand.

* * *

Marni was still at home, lying on her couch with an old movie playing in the background. She was just about to fall asleep, but heard the phone ring. (Rotti didn't think to buy her a new wristwatch like Mag's, and well... she couldn't afford one herself.) She picked it up, and was delighted to hear Mag's voice on the other line. She quickly tried to apologize to Mag for not telling her about Nathan, but she was cut off and told to meet her at their favorite bistro and abruptly hung up. Marni was confused, but she still put her hair in a ponytail, grabbed her coat, and left to meet Mag at the restaurant.

The restaurant was small on the outside, even smaller on the inside. It had delicious food however, and she could smell the the wonderful scents wafting in the air as soon as she opened the door. She told the host that she was meeting a woman with dark hair and shocking bright blue eyes, and he told her that she was expecting her. Marni was guided to Mag's table, but was surprised to find that Mag wasn't there. Instead Nathan was sitting at the table, giving her a friendly wave, and stood up to give her a kiss. When he sat back down, she saw that it looked like one of those cliche dinners. Candlelight, a bottle of wine, and of course a wonderful bread basket. She never admitted that she loved these kind of things except to Mag. And sure enough, from behind her Mag tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, ready to cry and apologize in her arms, but Mag instead gave her a small hug, whispering to her that she hopes she has fun on her date tonight. She thanks Mag for setting all this up, for being so supportive, but Mag simply shrugs, saying something about how Nate is a much better pick than Rotti. She leaves the bistro, and hurries back to the apartment, finally happy to see her friend with a man that she deserves. A person that they both deserve.

* * *

He was furious with Mag. Almost to the point he was ready to call it quits, to take back her eyes and let her bleed to death. Rotti stepped on to the dirty doormat of their apartment, knocking heavily on their door. No reply. He knocked again, this time yelling out Marni's name. When there was still no reply, he kicked the door in anger. He was planning on asking Marni what was going on, but of course, she wasn't home. He was about to leave, but thought that maybe he should make sure that she's not there. He turned the door knob, surprised to find that it wasn't locked. He muttered under his breath about his girlfriend being so trusting, and let himself in. He coughed, and gave a disgusted look around the place. It was not often that he visited Marni's abode, and now he remembered why he hadn't. It was ugly, old, and dilapidated in his eyes. He made a mental note about forcing her to move in with him and the children. He prowled through more things, eyes squinting at everything he didn't find proper. When he looked at a coffee table in the kitchen, he saw a photo lying on the surface. Rotti smiled, guessing that the photo was of him and his fiance, or her with her best friend. He picked it up, and the instant his eyes met the faces on the glossy paper, he yelled and ripped the picture in half.

She betrayed him. Cheated on him. Even let the evidence be laid out where anyone could see it. How dare Marni let Nathan Wallace lay his lip upon her's? How dare she even look that happy to be kissed by such vermin as him. When did this happen? How did it all start? Who would he have to kill to make it go away, to have his old life back, which happened to be only a few minutes ago when he was blissfully unaware of his fiances affair. He found a lamp, and threw it at the wall, relishing that the room suddenly turned pitch black, it's only source of light now depleted. He imagined ringing his hands around Marni's neck, letting her slowly beg for forgiveness as she loses her breath and her mind.

He heard the door open, someone was coming in. He hoped it was Marni, he's ready to scream at her, to make her feel the unbearable pain that he was going through right now. He is almost dazed, feeling animal like. When he saw a woman with dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes, he's immediately disappointed. It's the horrible, disgusting thing that Marni calls a friend. That thing is looking at him, a scared look in her eyes. He feels the animal inside rising in power, happy that this vulnerable prey is afraid of him. And she should be, after all, she is just as bad as the woman he hates right now.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, her voice higher than it normally would be.

He didn't reply. Hearing her voice made him come into realization about something. That secret that she wouldn't tell him. It was about Marni's affair. How dare that little vermin not tell him about it, she had just shown that she is not worthy of the eyes that he has donated to her worthless cost. He wanted to scream at her, but no words came out of his mouth. The only thing that he felt is his body becoming tense, hot with anger. He started walking towards her, his fists clenched so tightly that they're turning white. She backed away into the kitchen, quickly trying to find something sharp in one of the drawers. He lunged at her, heard her cry in terror. She tried to fight back, but alas, Mag isn't physically strong enough to overpower all of his weight. She's screaming, trying to fight him off. She cried out, asking him why is he hitting her, why is her face being smashed in.

"The most important thing in the world betrayed me and hurt me. Now I'm going to hurt the most important thing to her."


	5. Not Without A Fight

**_Authors Note: Chapter five of Let Me Fly! Thank you so much to the people who have been reading the story and following Blind Mag through her journey, and thanks a bunch to Tawny Leaf for helping me edit this chapter. Hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

"Right, so we decided that she'll have Nathan's light brown hair, my hazel eyes, and your beautiful voice."

"Wow... I think she's set for life. Good looks, and a chance for a music career. Let's just hope she doesn't have your intelligence."

"Hey! If she has my smoldering looks, she won't even need smarts."

Mag giggled and heard mutual laughter over the telephone. It seemed like ages ago when she was upset about Marni's relationship with Nathan, now she couldn't imagine another man better for her best friend.

Though it also had been ages ago when she thought being a professional opera singer would be the most wonderful thing. She was in her dressing room at the moment, backstage of the popular theater she was performing at tonight. It was two hours before the opera would start, the one that Rotti had specifically picked out to bring in the most "audience members". She considered it more like a piece of garbage, intended for the contemporary scene. With the risque GENterns, and DJ Booths up in the balcony...It was no longer that perfect vision that she had imagined life would be like when she was told she'd get to sing for audiences.

_"But of course...I imagined the world to be much more beautiful when I was blind..."_

As she drifted off silently, only the reoccurring sound of her name brought her back to reality.

"Mag...Mag...Maggy, are you still there?"

She was suddenly startled, quickly replying that she was indeed still on the other line.

"Oh good, I was worried for a second that you left to go do some important operatic warm-ups, or was getting prettied up to perform on stage," Marni said in a playfully mocking tone.

Mag bit her lip nervously, remembering that was actually what she was supposed to be doing at the exact moment.

"Actually, I better do that before Rotti becomes angry at me."

She heard an overexaggerated groan on the other side.

"Come on Mag, I haven't talked to you in ages. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I saw you. What country are you at now?"

"....Truly Marni? I don't even remember these days. I'm all over the world for tours, I'm in one continent and before I even have a chance to soak it in, I'm flying across the seas to perform at some other place." It was tough for Mag to hide the exhaustion from her voice from just thinking about her manic tour schedule.

"Wow. You should tell Rotti to give you a break, I mean you are _Blind Mag_. Surely with your high profile, you're able to have some word about what you want to do with your own work?"

"Oh..Um. Yes, of course. I'll tell him to let me have some time off soon," she said anxiously.

"Good. Because I miss you and I'm sure this fetus misses you as well. I know the doctors say it will still be a while, but I can just tell that she can't wait to come out and see her godmother," Marni said softly, her voice filled with affection.

"Who is her godmother anyways?"

"........."

"Marni?"

"....Are you serious Maggy? And you were saying that I wasn't smart. Of course it's you, there's no one else in the world that would be a better godmother than you!" she exclaimed happily. Mag smiled brightly, ecstatic to know that she would play an important role in Marni's child's life.

"Thanks Marni, this really means a lot to me. I promise that the two of us will be best friends, and we'll complain about you behind your back," Mag joked.

"Well, she'll need somebody to vent too. Which reminds me Mag, I need you to agree to something," Marni said, her voice suddenly becoming solemn.

"No I will not have a threesome with you and Nathan," Mag said, laughing

"I'm serious Mag."

"Of course and I am to. But truly, what is it that you need?" she asked, her chuckles subsiding.

"I want to know that if anything were to happen to me, you'll be there in my child's life to take my place as her motherly figure. I'm not asking you to be her mom or anything, but it's just that...you know."

Mag didn't know what to say to that. The thought of Marni not being in her life had never crossed through her mind, simply because she had always been there. If there was a time that Marni hadn't been there, then that might as well have been time wasted.

"I don't think that we're going to need to worry about that Marni-..."

"Just tell me that you'll do it, please Mag!" Marni pleaded. Mag was taken aback, she had never heard Marni so desperate before.

"Of course Marni, I promise. I'll be there for her if something were to happen to you." She heard Marni sign in relief.

"Thanks Mag. I'm sorry, it just feels so much better to know that she'll have someone other than Nathan to take care of her. I mean, I trust Nathan, but she needs more than just him in her life, you know?"

"Yes I understand."

After that serious conversation, they started to joke around and make fun of each other like they used to, remembering the days when they both lived in an apartment together and all of the mayhem that occurred during those times. As Mag became more and more absorbed, the telephone practically glued to her ear, she didn't notice the stage director rushing into her room, yelling at her for not being in hair and make-up. Mag looked up at him, gave him a cold-stare with her digital eyes, and instantly his mean demeanor was shattered. He felt like she was looking right through him, and he quickly muttered that she needs to get primped up in ten minutes and left, his tail between his legs. Mag couldn't help but chuckle at the effect she could have on people sometimes.

"Sorry about that Marni, but it seems that I must leave you to go and perform some trivial opera tonight."

"I'm going to guess you gave him the glare?"

"How did you know?"

"I heard him yelling, and then all of a sudden he sounded like a defeated school girl."

"Haha, yes that's pretty much what happened."

"That stare was even worse when you were blind, I knew that you couldn't see me but just something about those eyes..."

_"What I wouldn't give to have those eyes back."_

"I'll make sure to give you the hardest glare when I come back to visit Marni."

"You better not, Nathan will wonder why you're checking me out," Marni joked. And then suddenly, the two of them burst into laughter once more, there eyes watering, giggling until their sides hurt. Mag wiped her tears away with her fingertips and brought the phone back to her ear."Hey, before I leave, I need to know... What were you thinking of naming your soon to be daughter?"

"...Hmmm. It went from Anastasia, to Penelope, to Jessica, back to Penelope, and then to Shilo. What do you think of that?"

"Oh, I think it's the most lovely name. Let me guess, you picked it."

"Of course! I wouldn't leave such an important thing to Nathan's hands!"

Mag smiled, but it quickly faded away. A moment of silence passed in between them. They knew it was time for goodbye, but it was much too soon for the both of them.

"...Really. When are you coming back? I'm scared that you won't be here for when Shilo's born. I'm scared that since you're so busy, you won't ever be here," Marni said softly, finally saying what was on both of their minds. Mag had been thinking the exact same thing every single moment of the day, but she couldn't tell Marni that if she ever dared leave, her eyes and most likely life would be in danger. Mag knew that she couldn't take it any longer though, that she was done being Rotti's pet. She looked at herself in the vanity that she was sitting next to, and wondered when her face became much older, what moment was it that Rotti had given her that bruise on her left cheek, why she looked so defeated when she used to be so happy. It was time to finally make a stand, to show everyone that she truly was a human being.

"I promise you Marni. I will be back for when Shiloh is born, and that when I do come back...I'll be there for good."

They both knew that it was a heavy oath, but the two of them had always had the up most faith in each other.

"When you come back, I'll make sure to make you corn chowder again."

"I'd like that. I've got to go though, I'll see you soon."

"Bye Maggy. Stay safe."

"Bye Marni."

And when she put the receiver back down, Mag knew that she really would keep her vow to Marni. Tonight would be the night that everything would change. Tonight, would finally be her night.

* * *

"Where the hell is Blind Mag? She was supposed to be on stage half an hour ago!" Rotti Largo yelled backstage, pushing everyone aside who was in his way. He was hurrying through the backstage corridor, opening the door to every single room that he passed by. With each one, he yelled at them furiously, asking where Mag was, but each of them only replied with a shrug or a fearful "no". With more and more people telling him that they had no clue where she was, he became more infuriated.

The relationship between Rotti Largo and Mag was at its breaking point. Everyday she was becoming more rebellious, and it was becoming harder for him to keep a tight hold on her. He remembered the other day, she had called Amber a Zydrate Junkie right in front of him, and he gave her a bruise to make sure she wouldn't forget her place. Then right after that, she commented on how Pavi must have the world record for the most sexually transmitted diseases. There was a cut on her to remind her that she was just a mere puppet. Then only yesterday, she had dragged Luigi by his ear, straight up to Rotti's own office to complain that he had killed one of her personal assistants. He choked her until her face went blue, then remembered that her vocal chords were precious cargo, and released her. Then when she was gone, he disciplined his son on not killing any more of the personnel...

_"It would be so much easier if I just made her blind once more."_

"Ummm..Mr. Largo?"

Rotti quickly turned around to see who was intruding on him. It was just a random person from the lighting crew, hair a messy dirty blond, and a white t-shirt with disgusting stains on it. He was about ready to explode in this guys face, put all of his anger with Mag out on him, when suddenly the worker said the things that he was exactly looking for.

"Mr. Largo, I last saw Mag twenty minutes ago, leaving Amber's dressing room."

Rotti gave a fake smile, and patted the guy (more like a hit) on the back.

"Wonderful. Now tell me, where is she?"

"Well...I don't know sir. I only saw her leaving Amber's dressing room and that was it."

Rotti rolled his eyes, and gave a grunt of distaste. Of course the boy wouldn't know where she was. He was starting to hate people more and more these days.

"Okay, then do you know why she was in my daughter's dressing room?"

He stood there, pondering the question for a little while. He shook his head and said,

"No, but there is one thing that I remember seeing when she left the dressing room."

"And what's that?"

"She had the most malicious smile I've ever seen on a person," he said bluntly. And as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

Rotti stood there for a few moments, wondering what it was that Mag had been so happy about that she left Amber's dressing room with a smile. Especially recently with Amber as her opening act, they've been bickering constantly. He knew that this most certainly couldn't be something good. He went to his daughters dressing room, isolated from everyone else because she said she needed her personal space. (He knew it was because she didn't want people to see her drugged up on zydrate however.) He reached her door, a flashy neon sign with her name on the outside, and went in without knocking. The room that he had built specially for her was completely trashed. The large vanity was shattered, broken glass scattered across the floor, and all of the furniture was either slashed or bent. He didn't acknowledge any of this however, not even the glowing black market Zydrate that was lying in a corner. What worried him was seeing his daughter laying in a pitiful mess in the middle of the floor, not a single word coming out of her mouth.

. He had never seen so little energy or life in her, and was instantly worried. He sat on the floor next to her, making sure to brush the broken glass away from him.

"Amber dear? What's wrong?" he asked in a sympathetic voice.

She pretended that he wasn't there. Rotti knew it couldn't be good if she wasn't talking.

"Amber...What happened?"

She was stubborn and still laid as flat as a board. It took some coaxing, but finally he was able to get her to acknowledge him. She sat up, her hair fake red curls in a complete mess and her neon make-up smeared all over her face. Her hands were bleeding from breaking fragile objects.

"I never want to sing again," she said in a quiet and meek voice.

Rotti again was not surprised by this statement. Everyday it's either she wants to replace Mag, or wants to drop singing all together.

"But why not? You have such a wonderful voice-..."

Once again, she didn't respond. It was very rare that Amber chose not to speak, especially when it was the chance to complain. Obviously whatever happened, it was a very serious matter.

"Amber, what has upset you so much? Why is it that you truly don't want to sing?"

Rotti could instantly sense his daughter putting up her defensive walls. He had hit a sensitive spot. She turned her face away from him, isolating herself from everything around her.

"Because....I hate myself. I absolutely despise everything that I am... I'm such an ugly person!" she cried out, tears running down her face.

He couldn't stand seeing his teenage daughter in so much distress. Rotti put his arms around her like the times when she was five, when she still had traces of her mother's face. Amber of course escaped from the embrace, but he thought it was a nice effort.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to buy you the most expensive face on the market. There's no need to cry..."

This statement only made her sob louder however. The expression on her face was absolutely heart breaking, like she had just heard she would die the next day.

"I don't hate how I look! It's everything else. I'm a horrible person daddy, I'm absolutely disgusting and shouldn't even deserve all of the things that I have," she said, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.

"I don't understand what you're talking about Amber. Are you saying that you hate your personality?"

"And so much more daddy. She showed me how 'effing screwed up my life really is..."

Instantly, Rotti's face contorted into a ferocious expression, almost making his daughter scared. How dare anyone make _his_ daughter feel horrible about herself? His own beautiful flesh and blood? It made him absolutely sick to his stomach, and he promised himself that he would find whoever this monster was and teach them a listen they'll never forget.

But then he remembered. There was someone who would do this to his children.

_"She would smile at that...Making my daughter feel absolutely horrible about herself. She went too far this time."_

"Amber, did she do this to you? Did Blind Mag tell you things to make you like this?" he asked urgently, his hands on her shoulders. Amber merely nodded, her own digital corneas looking up at him pitifully.

"Don't listen to a thing she tells you, ever. She's absolutely jealous that you're talented and gorgeous, and she's not. I couldn't ask for a better daughter."

Amber shook her head and frowned at him, her plump lips pouting.

"She said that you would say something like that. She said that you would just feed me lies about myself, and that it was time to realize what a load of garbage I am, and make a change to myself without you interfering."

"...She said that did she? That little vermin, when I find her I swear that I'm going to bash her...-"

And then Rotti remembered that his daughter was still sitting there, hating herself like no other. Making people feel better had never been his specialty, in fact the exact opposite had always been his famous trait. He knew that he couldn't leave his own precious kin in this state of mind however.

"Listen to dad. Mag isn't going to be singing much longer, because I'm replacing her with you very soon. Because of that, she just wants you to feel bad about yourself so you won't have the courage to take her place. I know you better than that though, no daughter of mine would ever have low self-esteem. Don't let her take away the glory that you're soon going to get."

His daughter's face suddenly brightened up, a smile forming on her lips.

"Do you really mean that daddy? Am I going to take Blind Mag's place soon?" she asked, her heart bursting with hope.

"Of course dear. So don't listen to a word she says, okay?"

"Okay!" she cheered, and was soon the talkative and energetic Amber Sweet once more.

He felt bad about lying to his daughter about taking Mag's place. He knew deep down that no one could truly bring in the large amounts of revenue that his little song bird does, and that Amber was the last person that could do it, but he would do anything to see his precious daughter be happy once again.

He got up, grateful that he was able to get Amber out of Mag's brainwashing words. As he was about to leave though, a question was still pestering his mind.

"Amber? What else did she say to you?"

She paused for a moment, thinking about what she should say.

"...She told me not to tell you."

"And you're going to listen to her?"

Amber nodded her head, and wiped away the last remaining tears.

When he left Amber's room, he cursed at Mag for still have a remaining after effect on his daughter. As he stalked through the corridors searching for her once more, he kept thinking about all of the misery that she kept on putting him through. Tonight had to be the absolute worst. He made a vow to himself that he would get revenge for the things that Mag did to his daughter, the things that she has been trying to do to assert her independence from him. Not anymore, he was done letting her off easy. No longer did he care about finding her to make her sing. Now he had an entirely new mission.

* * *

Mag's whole body was shaking nervously as she stood behind the curtains that would soon rise to reveal her to the audience. She was fidgeting with her hair, curling it around her finger, releasing it, and then repeating the process. Mag had to admit though, she had done the things that she needed to do, the things that she had always dreamed of when she cried by herself in her hotel room but never had the guts to act out on. It wouldn't be like that anymore though, she didn't gave a damn about Rotti's orders. Tonight's little mischevious acts would prove that. Mag chuckled as she thought of the pathetic mess she left Amber in, how she had called the press straight after that and gave a telephone interview on her take of Rotti's morbid corporation, and she had even been able to book one plane ticket back home for the red eye tonight. It was all very well, but the moment that was about to take place would perhaps be one of the most difficult to pull off however.

She could see out of the corner of her eye, the crew members wondering why she was wearing a pure white dress, instead of her dramatic black costume. She grinned, excited to see their faces for what was really going to be a show for everyone to remember.

Over the intercom, the announcer's voice boomed in the auditorium, introducing her to the stage. She clenched her fists, excited and scared for the moment that was about to take place. The velvety curtains were raised, and she saw the empty faces of the audience emerging into view. As they observed her, they noticed that she looked different than how she normally did with her TV interviews, or on billboards. Mag didn't look like the avant-garde performer that Rotti had created, and instead wore simple attire, her hair curled at her shoulders, and absolutely no make-up on. It was perfection to her, the way that she had always wanted to appear. The audience didn't know any better, they just sat in their seats curiously watching,

Mag walked up to the very front of the stage, a movement that wasn't in the script. It was complete silence except for the sound of her feet lightly pressing down on the old stage floor with each step. When she could go no further without going out into the crowd, she sat down, her feet dangling over the side of the stage. It was one of the least memorable or dramatic actions that an opera singer could take, but she wanted this to be a personal performance with the audience, and could think of no better way of doing it. She was only five feet away from the people in the front row, and saw their grins of excitement that she was so close to them.

Her heart was beating ferociously, and knew that it was the perfect time for her to sing. Not with the orchestra director cueing her into her part, but able to freely choose when and what she would sing. So she took a deep breath, parted her lips, and let the music escape from her. Mag wasn't even singing opera, let alone even a grandeur song. It was almost like a sweet lullaby that soothed the soul of anyone that heard it. Her beautiful soprano voices clear tone coveted the audience in mind numbing pleasure. And Mag couldn't lie, she was getting a lot of happiness from it too. It went on for only mere minutes, and she hummed the last few notes, letting the sound resonate through the theater.

The audience was silent for a moment, but Mag wasn't worried. The moment she stood up, they all did as well and gave her the most thunderous roar of applause she had ever received. It was amazing, the moment she had dreamed of when she was blind. Being loved for who she is, and what she is able to give. Their praise made her elated, and as she left the stage in her euphoria, she was ready to go home. This was her goodbye to the stage, and to the cruel environment that she lived in much too long.

* * *

When asked to describe what it was like after she was done, the workers said that she moved so gracefully to her dressing room, that it was almost like she was dancing. They also described that it was the brightest and happiest any of them had seen her this whole tour. One man said she was like a beautiful angel with that white dress, almost like she was emitting light from within. Another said that she had a confident smile, like she hadn't a worry in the world. There was one thing they all could agree on however.

It would not last long.

Mag was right outside of her dressing room, ready to go in and grab her things that she had packed previously, and catch a plane back home. Her heart was still racing from her performance, she was so excited that her feet could not stop moving side to side. She imagined what she would do once she got back...Visit Marni of course, but she knew she would have to go into hiding after that. Create an alias, maybe even get a GeneCo surgery so no one could recognize her identity...She always wondered what it would be like to have purple hair.

She had her hand on the door knob, ready to go inside, when all of a sudden she heard a man yelling her name through the hall. Mag instantly flinched, fearful that it was Rotti Largo, but saw that it was only a guy on the lighting crew.

"Mag! Mag, please don't go in there!" he bellowed, running towards her. She gave him a sheepish smile and joked,

"Why? Want my autograph?"

When he came up to her, she saw that he was in complete distress, and her smile faded.

"What's wrong dear? You look like you saw a ghost..."

It took a moment for him to gain his composure. He took a loud and deep breath, then quickly said, "you'll be in danger if you go in. He's...He's waiting for you."

Mag's face went stark white, her whole body suddenly feeling cold. She hadn't thought about what she would do if she ran into Rotti Largo tonight, only thought of things that she could do to hurt him and his corporation. She thanked the boy for the information, kissed him on the cheek (to his absolute delight, after all, she is Blind Mag.), and watched as he quickly left the corridor, wheezing with each breath.

_"Maybe he really did want my autograph?"_ she joked with herself.

Mag knew better than to go into her dressing room and face the abuse that she would receive for tonight's fiasco. Even if the plane tickets that she had printed out, and her special momentos were inside, they were merely things, even if they had a lot of value to her. She was sick of getting harassed by Rotti though, and after having the courage to do so many things tonight, there was one last thing that she really wanted to do, and that was to give him the pain that he had given her.

_"Or perhaps more than that?"_

Mag raised her dress slightly, and looked down at the gun holster that she had put on right before she went on stage to wait behind the curtain. It was only to be used as a Plan B; if Rotti had found out that she was going to be leaving him forever after tonight, he would have her eyes repossessed and she would most likely be killed. And if that was going to happen, she wouldn't go down without a fight.

_"I could do it...I could really make him pay for what he did to me. Threaten him, and let him see just what it feels like to be afraid that to be killed. Or maybe I should just shoot his legs a few times, sing that folk song about butchering chickens while he cries in pain like the so many times I have. With all of those options, I could easily get my things and then just fly away like a song bird..."_

It was completely erratic, and Mag knew that. She knew that she should just leave it be, and make her escape right now while she has the chance. But she couldn't forget all of the times that he abused her, threatened her, made her feel like a mere puppet in his world. Mag would never be the same again because of him, and she couldn't let it go. For the first time in her life, her emotions got the better of her, and she stepped into her dressing, a confident stride in her step.

When the door closed behind her, Rotti made a little cough to let her know that he was in there. He was sitting on her chair that she used for the vanity, a deadly grin on his face. He looked like he went to Hell and back today, Rotti always looked clean cut and professional, but he had sweat stains through his suit, his hair was a straggly mess, and his eyes made him look like a mad man. Mag didn't falter however, and gave him a cool stare.

"Hello Rotti." The words had a smooth edge to them.

"Hello Mag."

"How are you doing Rotti?"

"I've been quite busy actually," he replied a manic expression on his face. She pulled up a chair, and sat next to him. Mag reached out for a bottle of champagne that was on her vanity, and popped it open, grabbing a glass nearby and pouring it in.

"Would you like some?" she asked, offering the bubbling beverage to him.

He shook his head, so she brought the glass up to her lips and sipped, almost daring him to say anything about it. When she put it back down on the vanity, she flashed him a mischevious smile.

"So, what can I help you with Mr. Largo?"

He crossed his legs and put his fists in his lap as though they were both in a business meeting. The tension was high in the room, but neither of them lost their temper.

"Well Mag, there were a few events that occured today that I would like to question you about."

"Ask away."

"Alright then. It has come to my knowledge that you told my daughter she was a waste of a human being, and that she should be ashamed of what her life has come to."

Mag held up her pointer finger and shook her head.

"Actually, I told her that she was a piece of garbage, and that she should regret everything that she's ever done," she corrected him.

"Ah, then I suppose that rumor is true. Then is it also true that you called up the media, and told them horrific things about GeneCo?"

"I told them the truth Rotti. It just happens to be horrific."

"You've ruined my reputation."

"It was ruined to start with. You had your chance to be a good person after you saved people with organ transplants, but now you've merely made it into a little game of yours. All you do is just find new ways to try and make money."

"Isn't that what everybody does?"

"Yes, but the way you make your money just makes you a piece of shit."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, only glaring at each other, emotions quickly rising.

"So now I know that another rumor is true. So let me ask if the last one is the same as the other two. Are you planning on leaving in the middle of the tour to go back home and leave GeneCo forever even though you have a contract?"

Mag clenched her fists and cursed under her breath. She tried to cover her tracks so Rotti Largo wouldn't find out that she was planning on escaping, but it was futile. She simply nodded, and said that she was ready to be done with being GeneCo's spokesperson.

He flashed his teeth at her, like an animal catching it's prey. He knew that he caught her now, and that like any captured animal, she'll go into a frenzy and try to escape without even thinking.

"Now you know I can't let you do that Mag. I'm afraid if you want to leave GeneCo, you'll have to leave it's eyes behind as well."

Mag knew that it was time to leave. She stood up, and grabbed her packed luggage from the side of the room, shaking her head.

"That's where you're wrong Rotti dear. You see, I'm going to leave you and this company behind. I'm not going to be your slave anymore," she said, and pulled the gun out of the holster, planning on making him frightened so she could safely flee.

She didn't receive the reaction she thought she'd get though. Rotti didn't look fearful, but rather amused. He started walking towards her.

"You really think I'm going to let you leave?"

"I dare you take another step closer," she attacked, hands shaking as she pointed the gun at him.

He stepped forward, and she immediately pointed the trigger at his knee caps and pulled.

_"Click.....Click....Click click."_

Mag constantly pulled the trigger, but the gun wouldn't go off, meanwhile Rotti Largo was getting even closer to her. She made a run to the door, but when she opened it, his henchmen were waiting outside. They hit her with the butt of their guns, and she was pushed back into the dressing room.

She was stuck. Locked inside. There was nowhere to flee too. This wasn't supposed to happen, she was supposed to get her revenge out on him _and_make her escape, the later perhaps the most important of the two. She couldn't do that now. Mag started screaming, her beautiful shrieks filling the room. Rotti Largo came up to her, and pushed her up against the door, hands clenched around her throat. He brought his lips up to her ear and whispered, "you thought that you could escape me? Thought you could hurt me a little and then be a coward and leave? There's nothing that happens within these walls that I don't know about...I took the ammo out of your gun and you didn't notice even when you put it on the holster. I know what goes on inside these walls, you can't hide anything from me."

And then she could sense it. Like she used to be able to sense things when she was blind, she could feel the eminent danger that was going to occur. She didn't feel a hard hit to her face, but him pushing his lips upon hers. It was the most degrading and gruesome thing that had ever occurred, and she wished more than ever that he had just bashed her face in. Mag fought back, her body flailing; she was punching and kicking all over. When he pressed his lips even harder, she kicked him in the stomach and felt his grasp on her loosen.

She took this chance to run towards the vanity, inside one of the drawers was a small kitchen knife that she kept ever since her first violent affair with Rotti. She ripped it out, the blade cold in her hand. Before she had a chance to defend herself though, Rotti quickly grabbed the wine glass that she taunted him with from the counter, and bashed her in the back of her head with it.

Mag fell to the ground, glass shards being pushed further into her head when she hit the floor. She was losing consciousness, and was trying so hard to stay in reality so that she could fight back or else she knew what would happen to her. She couldn't let him do that...No she would rather die than let him do that to her.

_"Please...Somebody help me...Marni...."_

It was too much. The only thing that she could remember before she blacked out were Rotti's last words.

_"You can't fly away from me my little songbird..."_


	6. New Chances

"_Someone else will keep you warm from now on. Someone else will keep you safe from the storm. But I'll be with you wherever you go. So you will never have to be alone."- I Will Be With You (Sarah Brightman)_

* * *

Finally. At the top of the world. Mag had international success, an album selling every minute, and it seemed like everyone knew her name. All around her, people were screaming her name, and writing her down in history books for being the one to start the revival of opera. A magazine named her one of the most strong and independent woman of the century. Another said that a voice like her's could only be a gift from the angels.

And yet.

Everything in Mag's life had horribly gone wrong. No, it seemed like when Rotti was abusing her and exploiting her voice that it seemed like everything was mishap, but that seemed like a pleasant experience to what was happening to her now.

Marni was dead.

And so was Shilo.

It felt like every chance of happiness or pleasure was sucked from her life forever. Nathan had left the news on a voice mail, she had been in rehearsal and couldn't answer her phone. She knew that Marni had started feeling sick, but she had told Mag that it wasn't anything serious. Marni blamed it on her pregnancy. Mag had no idea that it was something so serious that it would take away two people that she loved the most in the world. (How could she not already love Shilo)?

"Mag? Baby, where are you?" a man yelled, calling out for her. He was inside the bedroom of her mansion. She was out on the balcony, on top of the railing.

She was going to give them a show, something that none of them would ever forget. Rotti would not be able to do anything about it. She stretched her arms out, and relished in the fact that there was nothing for her to grab on to. Everything was air. Her body swayed back and forth dangerously, embracing the adrenaline rush. Mag was going to jump. She was at her mansion, five stories high, and standing on the railing of her balcony. She let the night sky embrace her tenderly as she closed her eyes and got ready to taste freedom.

She lifted one foot.

"Mag! Come on sugar cakes, come back to bed with me!" the man yelled again.

She stopped. Reality hit her again. She looked down at the ground. She was so high up that it made her dizzy. That little voice in her head always made her come to her senses. It was normally Marni. Mag thought about what Marni would say to her. It would probably be some corny inspirational saying that Mag would tease her about, but nonetheless, Marni would tell her to stick through everything. Give everything one last chance before you give up.

"_You're dead now, and yet you still haunt me from your grave."_

Mag slowly stepped back onto the stable ground of the balcony, rushed towards her bedroom, and kicked the disgusting man out of her house.

"_Stupid of me to try and replace my love for Marni with the love of a man."_

* * *

Another night and another show. More fake smiles and more grand bows. Mag was in her dressing room, by her vanity. She wiped the stage make-up off of her face, and put her hair into a comfortable ponytail. The day had been better than usual. She had time to visit her favorite bistro before rehearsal, and a little girl came up to her on the street and gave her a hug. A little sign of affection was something that Mag desperately needed. Yes, it was a content day.

"Blind Mag? Blind Mag...I was wondering if I could have your autograph?"

Mag turned around from her vanity mirror, and saw a teenage boy by the door of her dressing room. She got up and took the pen and paper from him.

"I hope you know that it's important to knock before entering a lady's dressing room," she said kindly.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but Amber Sweet said that I could come in.

"Oh? Do you happen to be her friend?"

"Boyfriend actually. Though I don't know for how much longer...She sounded quite upset when I asked her if she could get me an autograph from you."

"It's merely jealousy. Tell her that she's prettier, talented, and more intelligent than me and she'll stop whining."

He gave Mag a confused look, thanked her for the autograph, and left.

"_Teenage boys will never understand."_

Mag went back to her vanity, and imagined what it would have been like to tell Shilo all about boys and dating. Perhaps Shilo would have been too shy to talk about those kind of things with her mother, and would have counted on her godmother for advice. She laughed at the idea. Mag would have nothing to say. No guy had ever wanted to date a blind girl in high school. Still, it would have been nice to have been a confidant for Shilo. They could have even went out to eat at their favorite restaurant and she would teach Shilo all about growing up. Later, they would have a sleepover at Mag's apartment and watch scary movies together. Mag shook her head and sighed. She hated it when she imagined silly moments that she could have had with Shilo. It just made it more difficult to bear with reality.

Reality. Something Mag did not like very much. It was easier to pretend that nothing bad ever happened in her life. She had no real people to talk to anymore. There still was one person left that she believed was still alive...Someone that could understand the hardship and difficulties that she was going through. Perhaps she should finally talk about her issues with someone.

The day had been an okay one. Well. She was going to make it even better.

* * *

It had been a while since she went to the Wallaces house, but Mag could close her eyes and find that house by heart. The lawn was overgrown, and weeds were sprouting all over. In the dark the house had looked stoic, but now it looked haunted. With each step towards the door, she questioned why she had decided to come back. He hadn't wanted to see her once before, why would he suddenly change his mind? Mag knew she had to try. It was just unhealthy for them to both be dealing with the pain alone. She was used to it now, which was the part that scared her the most. She ignored the doorbell, and instead chose to knock on the outside glass door. Then she waited.

Mag didn't know what to expect. She nervously bit her lip, and felt her heart race when the inside door opened.

"Who's there?" a man asked.

Mag studied the person that was behind the glass door. His face was sunken in, and he had a disgruntled expression. For a moment, she questioned whether or not Nathan had moved, but she decided to stand her ground.

"It's Mag. Well, it's Maggy."

"...Mag? What are you doing at my house?"

"I wanted to talk to you Nathan. It's time."

"This is unexpected, perhaps you should return another-..."

"No. I'm done with waiting. I am going to speak with you right now."

Nathan grumbled a few words, and then opened the door to Mag. He felt like her digital eyes were scanning him, judging the way the turned out. While she went on to make a fortune and a life for herself, he was a monster. A killer that Marni would be revolted with.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, not offering to sit down or get a drink.

"We need to talk about Marni and Shilo. I know too well that it must be tough for you to cope with it as well. I haven't exactly had the best time dealing with the loss of my best friend..."

Mag was tender with her words. She knew that she was opening up fragile wounds for the both of them.

"They're gone Mag. We just need to deal with that fact and move on."

"But we haven't been dealing with it Nathan. At least...I know that I haven't. I've just been setting it aside, and hoping that I'll eventually forget. I can't do that anymore. I need someone to talk too."

"I just want to be left alone."

"...Why does it have to be like this Nathan?"

"Because. It just does."

Mag looked down at her feet, and let out a sigh. She knew that it was wrong for her to come and bother him about something so sensitive. She should have known better than to barge up to someone's home and demand to come inside, but she had hoped that he would need someone to speak with as badly as she did. She looked around the house, and saw a familiar face looking back at her. All around were portraits of Marni. She then looked at Nathan. He looked so defeated, so unhappy. He was nothing like the man that she had first met. But of course. Neither was she.

Mag did the only thing that she thought would be best. She wrapped her arms around Nathan, and gave him a hug. She figured that a little sign of affection was something that he desperately needed. Nathan flinched at first, but gave her a hug back, feeling the tears start to swell up. It was strange to him. He was used to people screaming in fear when they saw him, and here was his old friend embracing him.

"Well look Mag. You're making a grown man cry."

"You were always the sensitive type Nathan."

He invited her to come into the kitchen to get a glass of wine. They reminisced about the days when Marni was still alive, talked about how difficult it has been to deal with the death of two loved ones, and hoped that perhaps they'd meet again someday.

"This has been lovely, but we've talked too much. I really need to go take care of Shilo upstairs-...".

Nathan abruptly stopped. A look of regret appeared on his face. He ran up the stairs, and Mag could hear the slam of a door.

"Wow. Nathan must be going crazy if he thinks that Shilo is alive."

Mag was getting ready to leave but before she opened the door, she could have sworn she heard a baby cry from the second floor.

"Or maybe I'm going crazy."

* * *

_The End_


End file.
